The Inter-American Democratic Charter: an instrument for the preservation and strengthening of democracy

Abstract

The article addresses the treatment of the provisions of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, a contemporary instrument instituted by the Organization of American States whose central axis is democracy, which is connoted as a right of ownership of the peoples of the Americas and an international state obligation, essential for development and considerable for its correspondence with the effectiveness of human rights. Understanding the content of the aforementioned document makes it possible to understand the supranational treatment of democracy, recognized by the States and replicated by them in their internal regulations, according to the principles and values on which it is based; and it facilitates knowledge of the circumstances in which it can be applied, specifically, in the event of risk to the democratic political institutional process or the legitimate exercise of political power. In short, as the Inter-American Democratic Charter has become an essential mechanism for the preservation and strengthening of democracy, it is necessary to reflect on the need to defend it in the context of contemporary public order.